Ask FreelanceSwitch: Portfolios and Blog Content

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In this issue of Ask FreelanceSwitch, we look at portfolios and blog content. Ask FreelanceSwitch is a regular column here that allows us to help beginners get a grip on freelancing. If you have a question about freelancing that you want answered, send an email to askfreelanceswitch@gmail.com.

Question 1

I’m currently working outside the field of programming. I was attending college when the recession hit and I had to drop out because of financial concerns. I was pretty good at programming in high school and I was in the top of my class in college. My main focus was application programming, things like Java with Swing, Qt with Python or C++ and I even managed to make a pretty decent 2D game engine in OpenGL/C++. I know it’s a long shot but do you think I might have a chance of getting some work as a freelancer with just this simple resume (no college degree, just some apps as a portfolio)? And if I do, should I consider web programming?

For many freelance projects, your portfolio will be far more important than any resume. A few clients may ask to see a resume, but it’s extremely rare and (more often than not) a sign that the client in question hasn’t worked with a lot of freelancers.

From the description of your portfolio, you can certainly consider freelancing — but you may want to invest some time in beefing up your portfolio more. You likely will be able to land some work from programmers based on a handful of really well executed programs, but if you want to attract clients who aren’t already familiar with the nuts and bolts of programming, you’ll need to have some really cool projects that you’ve completed that they can play with and explore.

You may also want to see if another programmer might be willing to mentor you, at least through the early parts of freelancing. Such a person can point you in the direction of the right languages to learn to work with, certain types of clients to pursue, and other details of freelance programming.

Question 2

I have my website that includes services, contact details , portfolio etc…your basic freelancers website. What I want to add is a blog for various reasons. However where I struggle is what kind of topics do I include in my blog? It’s easy to think of articles that relate to the industry, new industry developments, Google trending etc… but being that my clients could be in any industry are they interested? So I struggle with content that I should be including – that at the end of the day interests potential clients.

Even though, as a freelancer, you can work with a wide variety of clients, it’s important to pick some specific types of clients who you would prefer to work with. To make things easy, pick clients within a specific industry — it will make marketing a lot easier. If you have one specific market that you’re targeting with your blog, you’ll be much better equipped to attract that audience if you focus your content.

The simple truth is that if you try to be all things to everyone, it’s impossible to market yourself. Very few prospective clients go out looking for a jack-of-all-trades. Instead, they search for a freelance web designer when they need a new website or look for a writer when they need content for a brochure. And if they can find someone who works specifically with their industry, so much the better. So make sure that the content on your blog reflects the way that clients think. Set yourself apart with both your skills and the industry you focus on.